America’s World Cup fans face soccer’s brutal reality after crying out for Lionel Messi – Inter Miami underdogs on MLS return
Robert Lewandowski’s MLS debut ended in defeat as Luis Suárez inspired Inter Miami to a 3-2 win over Chicago Fire.
With plenty of eyes on the domestic product as US Soccer looks to build on a hugely successful World Cup, the game didn’t get off to a good start.
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Miami defender Ian Fray got on top of goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo in the 18th minute and somehow managed to swing with his right boot, miss completely and see the ball go into his goal.
Thankfully for Fray, the effort went down as his goal keeper to protect his stat sheet.
Fans quickly took to social media to share the clip and question the quality on display in MLS.
“I decided to give MLS a shot after watching the whole World Cup. Then this happened,” wrote one.
He later added: “I’m sure this is an outlier but the quality is much lower than the World Cup and it’s crazy.”
“MLS brings great humor as always. That goalkeeper looked a bit traumatized,” added another.
“Messi wasn’t crying because he lost the World Cup, he was crying because he knew he had to come back to this,” reads another cruel joke.
“You must have forgotten what the American goalkeeper did when we played against Belgium,” said another, talking about Matt Freese’s crying after losing the World Cup.
Luis Suarez steps up in Lionel Messi’s absence
Fortunately for MLS management, the rest of the game was a good advertisement for the brand.
Miami – playing without Argentine stars Lionel Messi and Rodrigo de Paul, as well as new signing Casemiro – equalized from Suárez’s spot, making it 2-0 after the break.
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Substitute Puso Dithejane brought Chicago level with his first MLS goal, but Preston Plambeck matched his milestone with an 87th-minute winner to remove the tag from his home side.
Miami has won five in a row that began before the six-week break.
The MLS regular season runs from February 21 to November 7, but took a mid-season break to accommodate players called up to represent their countries in the World Cup, particularly the US men’s national team.
The league returned to the field on July 16.
“I want to congratulate the whole team, a team that has worked very hard this season,” Herons manager Guillermo Hoyos said after the game. “We were doing things the right way.
“I also want to congratulate the whole club. There are many people working behind the scenes who make this great joy possible. It’s really moving, because that’s what football is about: emotions, success, emotions.”
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Hoyos will give Messi and De Paul plenty of time to recover after their run to the finals.
“I believe, and I’ve said this many times, that rest is important,” he said. “It is part of human growth and development.
“They need this time, and we’re completely open to giving them whatever time they need. There’s no set return date.
“We trust them and we care about them a lot, and we want them to come back only when they are really ready, fully recovered in all aspects.
“It has been incredibly difficult, 50 days of great pressure and the World Cup matches.
“It’s huge, and the physical and mental stress is real. They really deserve this time off, and we’ll wait for them to come back whenever they’re able and in the right condition to do so.”
Lewandowski signed for the Fire on June 29 but saw his debut postponed due to dangerous weather.
He brings plenty of pedigree from his time with Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
The arrival of the seven-time Bundesliga Golden Boot winner is expected to see MLS striker Hugo Cuypers join CF Monterrey of Liga MX.
